A private member’s bill providing a stopgap measure which allows directors to use an alternative address, and not their home address, on the Companies Register was passed last night.
The stopgap measure in the Companies (Address Information) Amendment Bill seems destined to be replaced by a (full) director identification number, similar to that used in Australia. But that full-blown replacement seems to be 2 – 3 years away. As well as enabling legislation, it will require significant IT backup – at the Companies Office.
The sponsor of the Bill, Labour MP, Hon Deborah Russell, acknowledged that it is a Bandaid pending a longer-term solution.
The process for obtaining an alternative address is also quite clunky. It requires a director to file a statutory declaration verifying that that public availability of their residential address is likely to result in a safety issue – for them or their family. This is overly fussy – and the process should be capable of being triggered by a simple online request for privacy. Which doesn’t need the process Pfaff of a statutory declaration.
Pleasingly, there has been some loosening of the process steps during the Bill’s Parliamentary journey, with the result that a low threshold will be applied for verifying a safety issue. Also, once the use of alternative address is made – the Registrar must take reasonable steps to prevent public access to the residential address (including by redacting information that is already in the register). A sort of right to be forgotten.
The implementation date and the availability of the template statutory declaration is still unknown, for a sensible legislative reform that has been in discussion since pre-COVID days.
Whilst it is not a complete answer to the rising tide of privacy and safety concerns being faced by company directors, this stopgap measure is welcomed. It alleviates the concerns of some directors who have had to use their own self-help measures. And whilst those did not reach the highwater mark of Bob Jones, who according to legend registered his car in the name of his dog – it will remove the residual concerns for some that they were lawbreakers.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.